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The Lemonade War

This engaging tale by Jacqueline Davies is “filled with real-life problems that relate to math, getting along with siblings and friends, [and] dealing with pride” (School Library Journal). Evan’s little sister Jessie may be a smartypants, but he usually doesn’t mind her. That is, until he hears Jessie’s going to skip third grade and be in his year at school. Now, with tempers flaring, their friendly lemonade-selling competition is turning into an all-out war.

Wish

Eleven-year-old Charlie Reese has been making the same secret wish every day since fourth grade. She But when she is sent to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to live with family she barely knows, it seems unlikely that her wish will ever come true. That is until she meets Wishbone, a skinny stray dog who captures her heart, and Howard, a neighbor boy who proves surprising in lots of ways. Suddenly Charlie is in serious danger of discovering that what she thought she wanted may not be what she needs at all.

Cass says:"Beautiful, feel good story. Such a relatable tale of a girl and her troubles, and how she deals during prime adolescence."

A Dog's Life: The Autobiography of a Stray

Squirrel and her brother Bone begin their lives in a toolshed behind someone's summer house. Their mother nurtures them and teaches them the many skills they will need to survive as stray dogs. But when their mother is taken from them suddenly and too soon, the puppies are forced to make their own way in the world, facing humans both gentle and brutal, busy highways, other animals, and the changing seasons.

Stella by Starlight

Stella lives in the segregated South - in Bumblebee, North Carolina, to be exact about it. Some stores she can go into. Some stores she can't. Some folks are right pleasant. Others are a lot less so. To Stella, it sort of evens out, and heck, the Klan hasn't bothered them for years. But one late night, later than she should ever be up, much less wandering around outside, Stella and her little brother see something they're never supposed to see, something that is the first flicker of change to come, unwelcome change by any stretch of the imagination.

Lawn Boy

"One day I was 12 years old and broke. I set out to mow some lawns with Grandpa's old riding mower. One client was Arnold the stockbroker, who offered to teach me about: the beauty of capitalism. Supply and demand. Diversifying labor. Distributing the wealth. 'It's groovy, man,' Arnold said. The grass grew, and so did business. Arnold invested my money in many things. One of them was a prizefighter. All of a sudden I was the sponsor of my very own fighter, Joey Pow."

Because of Winn-Dixie

When 10-year-old India Opal Buloni moves to Naomi, Florida, with her preacher father, she doesn't know what to expect. She is lonely at first, that is until she meets Winn-Dixie, a stray dog who helps her make some unusual friends. Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal begins to let go of some of her sadness and finds she has a whole lot to be thankful for.

Fish in a Tree

Ally has been smart enough to fool a lot of smart people. Every time she lands in a new school, she is able to hide her inability to read by creating clever yet disruptive distractions. She is afraid to ask for help; after all, how can you cure dumb? However, her newest teacher Mr. Daniels sees the bright, creative kid underneath the trouble maker. With his help, Ally learns not to be so hard on herself and that dyslexia is nothing to be ashamed of.

Ruby Holler

"Trouble Twins" Dallas and Florida have been shuffled between foster families and the orphanage all their lives. All they want is a loving place to call home, but they are mistrustful that one exists for the likes of them.

The One and Only Ivan

Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all. Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he's seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line.

Lemonade Crime

Award-winning author Jacqueline Davies’ The Lemonade War introduced fourth-grader Evan and his math-genius sister Jessie as they went head-to-head to see who could sell the most lemonade. Its charming sequel, The Lemonade Crime finds the siblings finally getting used to being in the same class after Jessie skips a grade. But a criminal trial - put on by their fourth grade class - will turn the siblings into rivals once again.

Blood on the River

Twelve-year-old Samuel Collier is a lowly commoner on the streets of London. So when he becomes the page of Captain John Smith and boards the Susan Constant, bound for the New World, he can't believe his good fortune. He's heard that gold washes ashore with every tide.

The Fourteenth Goldfish

Eleven-year-old Ellie has never liked change. She misses fifth grade. She misses her old best friend. She even misses her dearly departed goldfish. Then one day a strange boy shows up. He’s bossy. He’s cranky. And weirdly enough...he looks a lot like Ellie’s grandfather, a scientist who’s always been slightly obsessed with immortality. Could this pimply boy really be Grandpa Melvin? Has he finally found the secret to eternal youth?

The Bell Bandit: The Lemonade War Series, Book 3

Jacqueline Davies’ The Lemonade War was praised for using subjects such as math and economics to create a “suspenseful, subtly educational plot that goes down as easily as a cool glass of lemonade in August” (Children’s Literature). The third novel in the series starring fourth-grader Evan Treski and his smarty-pants younger sister, Jessie, follows the siblings as they try to solve the mystery of who stole the New Year’s Bell from atop Lovell Hill.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

Kate DiCamillo takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the depths of the ocean to the net of a fisherman, from the top of a garbage heap to the fireside of a hoboes' camp, from the bedside of an ailing child to the bustling streets of Memphis. And along the way, we are shown a true miracle, that even a heart of the most breakable kind can learn to love, to lose, and to love again.

Tuck Everlasting

When 10-year-old Winnie Foster stumbles upon the Tuck family's disturbing secret, she is forced to come to terms with her conflicting emotions. She feels drawn to the loving, gentle, and rather eccentric Tucks, but what they tell her is too incredible to be believed. Doomed to, or blessed with, eternal life after drinking from a magic spring, the Tuck family tries to make Winnie understand that the terrible magic of the forest spring can never be revealed.

A Snicker of Magic

Midnight Gulch used to be a magical place, a town where people could sing up thunderstorms and dance up sunflowers. But that was long ago, before a curse drove the magic away. Twelve-year-old Felicity knows all about things like that; her nomadic mother is cursed with a wandering heart. But when she arrives in Midnight Gulch, Felicity thinks her luck's about to change. A "word collector", Felicity sees words everywhere - shining above strangers, tucked into church eaves, and tangled up her dog's floppy ears - but Midnight Gulch is the first place she's ever seen the word "home".

Wonder

August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school - until now. He’s about to enter fifth grade at Beecher Prep, and if you’ve ever been the new kid, then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie’s just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he’s just like them, despite appearances?R. J. Palacio has crafted an uplifting novel full of wonderfully realistic family interactions, lively school scenes, and writing that shines with spare emotional power.

Rules

Catherine, a 12-year-old girl with big responsibilities, loves her autistic younger brother David and makes lists of rules she thinks will help him get by. But she often feels that her parents, focused on special care for David, forget that she exists, too.

Frindle

He really just likes to liven things up at school -- and he's always had plenty of great ideas. When Nick learns some interesting information about how words are created, suddenly he's got the inspiration for his best plan ever: the frindle. Who says a pen has to be called a pen? Why not call it a frindle? Things begin innocently enough as Nick gets his friends to use the new word. Then other people in town start saying frindle. Soon the school is in an uproar, and Nick has become a local hero.

Because of Mr. Terupt

It's the start of fifth grade for seven kids at Snow Hill School. There's Jessica, the new girl, smart and perceptive, who's having a hard time fitting in; Alexia, a bully, your friend one second, your enemy the next; Peter, class prankster and troublemaker; Luke, the brain; Danielle, who never stands up for herself; shy Anna, whose home situation makes her an outcast; and Jeffrey, who hates school. Only Mr. Terupt, their new and energetic teacher, seems to know how to deal with them all.

Found

With the same heightened suspense and intrigue that made her Shadow Children,/i> books - including Among the Hidden - best-sellers, acclaimed young adult author Margaret Peterson Haddix presents the first entry in a thrilling new series. Thirteen years ago, a plane materialized out of thin air with 36 babies on board and no one at the controls. Jonah and Chip, passengers of that mysterious vessel, are now caught in the middle of a deadly struggle between the FBI and a sinister, unseen force.

The Old Willis Place: A Ghost Story

Diana and her little brother Georgie have been living in the woods behind the old Willis place, a decaying Victorian mansion, for what already seems like forever. They aren't allowed to leave the property or show themselves to anyone. But when a new caretaker comes to live there with his young daughter, Lissa, Diana is tempted to break the mysterious rules they live by and reveal herself so she can finally have a friend.

Crenshaw

Jackson and his family have fallen on hard times. There's no more money for rent, and not much for food, either. His parents, his little sister, and their dog may have to live in their minivan. Again. Crenshaw is a cat. He's large, he's outspoken, and he's imaginary. He has come back into Jackson's life to help him. But is an imaginary friend enough to save this family from losing everything?

Publisher's Summary

Barbara O’Connor’s How to Steal a Dog blew critics away and quickly became a fan-favorite.

After being abandoned by her father, Georgina Hayes is forced to spend much of her time watching her younger brother, while their mother works two jobs to make ends meet. When she sees a missing-dog poster offering a $500 reward, Georgina cooks up a scheme to steal a look-a-like dog and claim the reward. But things don’t quite go as planned.

Love the book as a window. Shocked by the number of definitions for the word "turn". Widowed and sad, but thankful. Trying hard to be useful. Have 28 years as a step-father to a fantastic grand-daughter and a not so fantastic drug addicted, step-daughter. Oddly focused on the fun of preparing to die well, and help those left behind, while eating, hot springing, and reading for pleasure.

What made the experience of listening to How to Steal a Dog the most enjoyable?

In reading "How To Steal A Dog" I was looking for a fun, escape type, read that might also help me think about a family member of mine that is not successful in life. The book was light hearted and fun, while reflecting a view of homelessness that I had never thought of, namely an adolescent view. Teenagers have enough to deal with in our culture with out adding homelessness to the mix. I enjoyed the basic ideas put forth by the daughter, because they sensitized me, somewhat, to both the presence and problems of homeless teens.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I enjoyed the ending, because it revitalized old maxims of hard work, faith in goodness, and honesty. These are shmultzy ideas, but I think our world has lost faith in them. We might have even lost sight of them. Does anyone value "hard work"?

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite scene was the discovery of a repaired car. Again it is shmultzy, but actually true enough in real life. I have personally benefited from the ravings of a homeless man once in my life. I found that odd.

Any additional comments?

I only rated this story with three stars, because it is ultimately a distasteful idea, namely the idea of stealing a pet. It never really overcame the horror of that. I did enjoy the book and may read it again someday, but only lightly recommend it.